Christmas came early Thursday for about 100 youngsters in the Mayfield area who participated in the annual Kentucky State Police "Shop with a Trooper" event.

When Post 1's "Shop with a Trooper" first started, Post commander Capt. Janet Barnett said there were just eight or 10 kids who participated. Since then, the event has grown every year.

"This is the highlight of our year, for the troopers as well as for the kids," she said. "It's a fantastic opportunity for our troopers to get involved in the community in a way that doesn't involve law enforcement. It's also a way for the community to interact with our officers, and it helps the public see them in a human capacity."

For Trooper Adam Jones, "Shop with a Trooper" is all about seeing the kids' faces light up when they get that new toy or game.

"I look forward to this every year," he said. "It feels really good to be able to spend time making kids happy, and they get to see that we don't have to be so serious all the time."

After a particularly difficult year at Post 1, with the deaths of troopers Eric Chrisman and Joseph Cameron Ponder, Trooper Eric West said it feels good to do something for the community that has shown the state police so much support.

"This is something we can do for them," he said. "They have done so much for us and this is chance for us to give it back."

For many of the families participating, the event meant their children could have something to look forward to on Christmas.

A single mother of two, Nicole McKinney said after she paid all of this month's bills, there wasn't much left to get nice presents for her son and daughter."It's been a really hard year," she said. "I bought what I could for them, but most of it was from the dollar store."

McKinney said the help "means a lot."

"Being a single mom is difficult," she said. "And this year we really needed this. I didn't want to see the disappointed looks on my kids' faces on Christmas morning."

Mother of three Nikki Rogers said without the help from the state troopers, her children wouldn't have a Christmas this year.

"It's been a really hard year," she said. "It really means a lot that KSP is doing this."

For her boys - Ethan, 10, Mason, 8, and Brennan, 12 - "Shop with a Trooper" meant they could pick out some toys they might not have gotten otherwise. Plus, they got to hang out with an officer, which got two thumbs up from all three boys.

Brennan said he wanted to get a new video game, while his brother Ethan was hoping for a pair of roller blades. The youngest, Mason, said he wasn't sure what he wanted to get, but then decided a "Nerf thing" was a good pick.

The mere mention of Nerf got all the boys excited, as they began mapping out plans for a Nerf war when they got home.